Last month, Lord Bell appeared on Newsnight fronting up the disgraced Bell Pottinger, the PR spinners he co-founded, which has now been dissolved. Re-wind a few years and his Lordship was fronting up another disgraceful entity.

In 2013, he was the guest of honour at the annual shindig of the Association of British Bloodsuckers (Bookmakers – Ed) – the ABB. According to Private Eye, he encouraged them to take a leaf out of the tobacco lobby’s playbook and believe “your opponents are wrong, and the moment you start acknowledging that they have an argument, you’re dead”.

It must have had an impact as Malcolm George, now CEO of the ABB, still claims that betting shops are the safest places to gamble.

Back then, the ABB Chair, Neil Goulden, was also Chair of the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT). Guess who did the PR spin on the RGT’s whitewash research into FOBTs? Yes, Bell Pottinger!

When the RGT met with the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board to discuss the FOBT research whitewash, guess who was in the room with them? Yes, Bell Pottinger!

It was also reported that Lord Bell had advised the ABB to acquire the royal seal of approval – which would have made them the Royal Association of British Bookmakers.

It will take more than bookies’ PR spin to avoid their pending seal of disapproval from the government’s FOBT review.